Gendered Differences in Consumer Shopping Choice, Motivations and Behaviour: A Study of Factors Influencing

Abstract

This research focuses on the gendered differences in consumer shopping choice, motivations and behaviour zeroing in on studying factors that influence consumer selection of retail supermarkets in Mutare. Four major retail shops, namely OK, SPAR, Pick n Pay and Choppies Supermarkets were targeted for this research. Descriptive research design was adopted for this research using a mixed methods research approach of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Non-probability sampling technique was used to randomly select the sample of 80 shoppers from a population of 400 shoppers and used as research subjects on a voluntary basis at their convenience. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and structured interview guides whilst desk research was used for secondary data. The data collected was coded to SPSS version 20 software and analysed. The study showed that there are notable differences in male and female shopping behaviours, ranging from frequency of shopping, motivations surrounding acceptable store atmospherics, level of customer service employed by staff and influence of marketing tools on store choice. It also showed that not all customers were influenced by the several marketing tools available to retailers except for sales promotions which appealed more to quick sales turnaround and instant customer satisfaction, especially among female shoppers, through the rewards accompanying sales promotions. On the other hand, men were seen to be more of utilitarian shoppers not influenced by bargains. Female shoppers were more concerned with service that is personalised such as grocery packing and assistance in ferrying groceries to their vehicles and having their complaints resolved than ignored and shelved. The study further revealed that female customers valued cleanliness, product variety and instore ambiance that is captivating and has sensory appeal whilst male shoppers were more concerned with product quality, durability and product knowledge. The implications are that for retailers to be effective in implementing strategies to attract customers to their stores, a lot has to be done in the areas of identifying male and female motivations and behaviours detrimental to attract and increase store traffic. Retailers must be willing to invest in their staff, customers’ needs and preferences, in other words, spend money to make money on the people who give and make money. The study recommends that retail supermarkets should continually improve their marketing efforts and customer service level to curb customer exits but rather attract and increase customer traffic. Improvement in product assortment and freshness, investment in store upgrades, equipment and facilities such as air conditioning, refrigerators and point of sale systems all contribute to the competitive advantage of each store over the others. Areas of further research entail provision of credit facilities to regular customers as well as rebranding and mergers with multinational retail brands such as Woolworths to gain competitive edge and enhance brand loyalty.